South Jersey

South Jersey is the southern portion of the US state of New Jersey, consisting of Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland, and Cape May Counties. South Jersey is defined as the land between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, and the counties of New Jersey within the Philadelphia metropolitan area and the Delaware Valley. The area was claimed by the Dutch in 1609, but they never settled the area, instead trading with the Lenape Native Americans. In 1638, New Sweden was established by Swedish settlers, and they founded Swedesboro and New Stockholm. New Sweden was captured by the Dtuch in 1755 during the First Northern War, and it was ceded to England in 1667 during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The region was organized into West Jersey, a Quaker commonwealth, and Burlington Township (the capital) was established in 1677, followed by Camden in 1681. By 1700, 70% of West Jerseyans were Quakers of English or Irish origin, and, in 1702, West Jersey was united with the mostly Scottish and Dutch East Jersey to form New Jersey. South Jersey's Presbyterian community was strongly supportive of the Patriots during the American Revolutionary War, although most of the Quakers were religiously forbidden from fighting. South Jersey, unlike North Jersey, developed into a mostly agricultural society, although Alloway, Millville, Vineland, Bridgeton, Hammonton, and Glassboro became centers of the glassmaking industry until its decline and the return of farming as the main industry during the 20th century. The marshy and Pine Barrens interior of South Jersey was unpopulated due to its acidic and nutrient-poor soil, although a few settlements and seaside resorts were built along the Jersey Shore. South Jersey became a haven for escaped slaves during the 19th century, as South Jersey was home to only 328 of New Jersey's 10,532 slaves in 1810. The advent of the railroad in South Jersey during the mid-19th century led to the founding of Vineland in 1861 and further development. The opening of the New Jersey Turnpike in 1951 led to South Jersey being swept by suburbanization, with Cherry Hill's population exploding from 10,000 in 1950 to 65,000 in 1970. Meanwhile, Camden's population declined from 125,000 in 1950 to 85,000 in 1980 due to white flight, rising racial tensions, a high crime rate, and the decline of the manufacturing industry. In 1980, a non-binding secessiono referendum passed with 51% of the vote, with the statehood movement arising from the state's funding of the Meadowlands Sports Complex in the north but not the Garden State Park Racetrack in the south. In 2005, Moorestown in Burlington County was rated the best place to live in the USA; three times in that same decade, Camden was rated the worst. In 2010, South Jersey had a population of 1,854,453 people, with 65.3% being white, 15.9% African-American, 11.6% Hispanic, 4.2% Asian, and 3% mixed.